Christchurch, New Zealand Earthquake 2011: Latest Facts, News, Photos & Maps
Arriving less than 6 months after a 7.0 M earthquake struck the South Island of New Zealand, a 6.3 M earthquake aftershock was registered near Christchurch, New Zealand on Monday, February 21, 2011 at 23:51:43 UTC (06:51:43 PM EST) – the country's worst natural disaster in 80 years. This earthquake involved oblique-thrust faulting at the easternmost limit of previous aftershocks, and like the mainshock itself is broadly associated with regional plate boundary deformation as the Pacific and Australia plates interact in the central South Island, New Zealand.1
Rescue workers spent a cold, rainy night searching through rubble for survivors of the powerful earthquake that has killed at least 166 people, though officials warned that the death toll was likely to rise as scores of people were still missing and feared trapped in the wreckage of several buildings that were flattened. "I think we need to prepare ourselves in this city for a death toll that could be significant," Mayor Bob Parker told reporters shortly after declaring a state of emergency and ordering the evacuation of the city center.2
The disaster struck at a shallow depth of 5 km (3.1 miles) on Tuesday lunchtime when Christchurch was at its busiest. In the aftermath of the disaster, shocked survivors wandered streets strewn with debris, including shattered glass, broken computers and desks. Roads split and cracked open as the ground beneath was liquefied by the quake. The damage is thought to be far worse than after the September 4, 2010 earthquake, which left two people seriously injured but no fatalities. The epicenter of that quake, which occurred in the middle of the night, was further away from the city and deeper underground.3
Contents
- One Year Later
- Earthquake Facts
- Structural Engineering News
- Special Reports & Blogs
- Latest News, Photos & Videos
- Maps, Remote Sensing & GIS
- Background Information on New Zealand
- South Island (Christchurch) Earthquake September 2010
One Year Later
- (2-22-12) – Los Angeles Times: Hard to Move on When Ground Keeps Moving
- (2-22-12) – CNN: Christchurch Marks Quake Anniversary
- (2-22-12) – Telegraph (UK): New Zealand Marks One Year Since Devastating Earthquake
- (2-22-12) – Washington Post: Frustration in Christchurch One Year After Quake
- (2-22-12) – Time: Christchurch Stuck in Postquake 'Fog'
- (2-22-12) – New Zealand Herald: Grief and Smiles Mark Anniversary
- (2-22-12) – New Zealand Herald: One Year On: What if it Happened in Auckland?
- (2-22-12) – BBC: Christchurch Earthquake: Rebuilding a City
Earthquake Facts
- (3-9-11) – New Zealand Herald: Rebuild could cost $5bn more than forecast
- (3-8-11) – Radio New Zealand: 166 Dead
- (3-7-11) – Radio New Zealand: 10,000 Homes Will Have to be Demolished
- (3-2-11) – New Zealand Herald: Quake to Cost Insurers up to $16 billion USD
- (2-22-11) – New Zealand Herald: Earthquake Shakes 30 Million Tons of Ice Off of Glacier
- (2-21-11) – 6.3 M earthquake strikes USGS Report
Structural Engineering News
- (12-14-12) – Building Design: Engineers and Construction Manager Take Rap for Collapse
- (12-10-12) – New Zealand Herald: CTV Building Errors Laid Bare in Report
- (3-13-12) – Radio New Zealand: Base-isolation Method 'Barely Used in NZ'
- (3-12-12) – Radio New Zealand: Quake Inquiry Focuses on New Building Technologies
- (2-28-12) – Radio New Zealand: Collapsed Building Previously Deemed Safe
- (2-27-12) – Radio New Zealand: Engineer Admits Failing Over Fatal Concrete Panel
- (2-23-12) – New Zealand Herald: Quake Inquiry: 'The Bloody Stairs Have Collapsed'
- (2-13-12) – New Zealand Herald: CTV Collapse Has Ripple Effect
- (2-9-12) – Australian Broadcast Corporation: Building Toppled by New Zealand Quake Substandard
- (1-26-12) – Sydney Morning Herald: 3,800 Buildings Unsafe in New Zealand Earthquake
- (1-17-12) – New Zealand Herald: 'Vulnerable' Shear Wall Led to Partial Collapse of Hotel
- (12-6-11) – New Zealand Herald: Engineers Who Declared PGC Building Safe Defend Decision
- (11-29-11) – New Zealand Herald: PGC Building Manager Knew of Quake Risk
- (11-22-11) – New Zealand Herald: Auckland Council Asked to Keep Quake-Risk Buildings Secret
- (11-22-11) – Wall Street Journal: Postquake, New Zealand City Reshapes Plan
- (11-8-11) – Radio New Zealand: Questions Raised About Quake Strengthening of Buildings
- (8-22-11) – New Zealand Herald: CTV Building 'Should Not Have Pancaked'
- (8-18-11) – New Zealand Herald: Major Christchurch Hotel Condemned
- (7-27-11) – Australian Broadcast Corporation: Engineer Raises Questions Over CTV Building Collapse
- (6-21-11) – New Zealand Herald: Demand for Experts to Help Rebuild City
- (6-14-11) – Christian Science Monitor: New Zealand Earthquake Rocks Christchurch Rebuilding Hopes
- (4-27-11) – New York Times: Christchurch Facing 20 Years of Earthquake Repairs
- (4-14-11) – New Zealand Herald: More Christchurch Buildings Marked for Demolition
- (4-14-11) – New Zealand Herald: Earthquake Legislation Passed
- (4-6-11) – Radio New Zealand: Quake Repairs on High-Rises 'Could Take Years'
- (3-29-11) – New Zealand Herald: Christchurch Will Be 'World's Most Quake-Safet City'
- (3-22-11) – New York Times: After Quake, Christchurch is Concerned About Tower
- (3-22-11) – New Zealand Herald: Building on Shaky Ground
- (3-14-11) – Radio New Zealand: Sweeping Building Code Changes Unlikely
- (3-10-11) – BBC: Damage Assessment Starts in Christchurch
- (3-10-11) – New Zealand Herald: Structural Assessment Sticker Code Confusing, Says Expert
- (3-9-11) – Institution of Professional Engineers of New Zealand: Overview of the Structural Performance during the Christchurch earthquake
- (3-9-11) – MCEER: Observations of the Performance of Eccentrically Braced Frames
- (3-8-11) – New Zealand Herald: Collapse of stairwells concerns professor
- (3-8-11) – New Zealand Herald: Entire Streets May Be Abandoned
- (3-7-11) – Nelson Mail: Building Strength for the Future
- (3-7-11) – New Zealand Herald: How to Mend a Shattered City from the Ground Up
- (3-3-11) – Radio New Zealand: Property Council Wants Building Code Rethink
- (3-3-11) – New Zealand Herald: Collapsed Buildings on Soft Soil Outlined in Quotable Value Property-Hazard Reports
- (3-2-11) – New Zealand Herald: No more high rises for rebuilt quake city
- (3-2-11) – Sydney Morning Herald: Politicians Warned on Building Standards
- (3-1-11) – Radio New Zealand: Prime Minister Wants Inquiry Into Buildings' Collapse
- (3-1-11) – The Australian: Did Shoddy Building Clearances Fail City
- (3-1-11) – New Zealand Herald: Holes Made in CTV Wall Raise Questions
- (2-28-11) – Nelson Mail: Standing Up to a Major Shake
- (2-28-11) – Wall Street Journal: Experts Question Building Safety in Christchurch
- (2-28-11) – The Mail (UK): Engineers reveal a THIRD of Christchurch's buildings have to be demolished and city centre could be no go area for months
- (2-28-11) – BBC: Christchurch quake: Dead are buried as weather worsens
- (2-27-11) – Marketplace: New Zealand Earthquake Reinforces Need for Better Infrastructure
- (2-27-11) – New Zealand Herald: Christchurch Earthquake: Homes Failed by 'Standards Oversight'
- (2-27-11) – Providence Journal: New Zealand Earthquake Has Lessons for URI Expert
- (2-27-11) – New Zealand Herald: NZ Can Learn from Christchurch Earthquake - Engineer
- (2-27-11) – Radio New Zealand: More than 700 Buildings Off Limits in CBD
- (2-25-11) – Brisbane Times: Earthquake Halts Earthquake Seminar
- (2-25-11) – University of British Columbia: UBC Seismic Expert in Christchurch
- (2-25-11) – New Zealand Herald: Levels of Liquefaction 300 - 500 pc worse
- (2-24-11) – New Zealand Herald: Deadly Tremors Rebounded on City
- (2-24-11) – PEER: Damage Report from Kenneth J. Elwood (PDF)
- (2-24-11) – Washington Post: New Zealand Earthquake Q & A with Timothy W. Manning of FEMA
- (2-24-11) – Sydney Morning Herald: Damaged City Could Take Decade to Rebuild
- (2-23-11) – New Zealand Herald: Pre-70's Buildings Are 'At Risk'
- (2-23-11) – CBC: Civil engineer Samir Chidiac discusses devastation caused by New Zealand quakes
- (2-23-11) – Christian Science Monitor: New Zealand Earthquake Preparedness: Authorities Battled Complacency
- (2-23-11) – Irish Times: NZ a World Leader in Quake Design
- (2-22-11) – Scientific American: Why Was New Zealand's Latest Earthquake So Deadly?
Special Reports & Blogs
- (12-10-12) – The Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission: Summary, Recommendations, and Reports
- (6-20-11) – BBC: Diary from Sumner
- (4-7-11) – ASCE: SEI Reconnaissance Team: Daily Journal
- (3-2-11) – EERI: Christchurch Earthquake Clearinghouse
- (2-28-11) – Structural Engineering Institute: Engineering Professor (and SEI President) in Christchurch When Temblor Struck
- (2-28-11) – ASCE: New Zealand Earthquake
- (2-28-11) – New Zealand Herald: Christchurch earthquake
- (2-25-11) – San Francisco Chronicle: New Zealand Quake Reminds Local Homeowners to Consider Retrofitting
- (2-24-11) – New York Times: Searching for Earthquake Survivors in New Zealand
- (2-23-11) – New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering: Christchurch Earthquake Clearinghouse
- (2-23-11) – Red Cross: New Zealand Earthquake Appeal
- (2-22-11) – Radio New Zealand: Christchurch Earthquake: Archived Audio
- (2-22-11) – BBC: How to Measure Earthquakes
- (2-22-11) – USAID: USAID Responds to New Zealand Earthquake
- (2-22-11) – Environment Canterbury: Canterbury Earthquake Clearinghouse
- (2-22-11) – Red Cross: Red Cross Responds to New Zealand Earthquake
- (2-22-11) – New York Times: Location and Timing Contribute to Losses in New Zealand Earthquake
- (2-22-11) – New York Times: Video of the New Zealand Earthquake Damage
- (2-22-11) – NPR: Death Toll from Quake in New Zealand May Top 200
- (2-22-11) – Discover: Why New Zealand's Earthquake Was So Deadly
- (2-22-11) – Guardian (UK): As It Happened
- (2-22-11) – The Economist: When Luck Ran Out
- (2-22-11) – Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS): Teachable Moment Presentation
Latest News, Photos & Videos
- (4-2-12) – Radio New Zealand: EQC Canterbury payouts hit $3bn
- (3-2-12) – Telegraph(UK): Earthquake-Ravaged Christchurch Cathedral to be Demolished
- (12-27-11) – Time: Earthquake Rattles New Zealand's Christchurch
- (11-2-11) – New Zealand Herald: Scientists Take New View on Quakes
- (9-15-11) – New Zealand Herald: Taxpayer-Backed Quake Insurance on Government List
- (8-23-11) – BBC: Life in the Condemned Red Zone
- (8-22-11) – New Zealand Herald: Government Strikes Compromise over Christchurch Inquiry
- (7-18-11) – Seattle Post Intelligencer: 7,500 Earthquake Shake Resolve in New Zealand City
- (6-20-11) – Sydney Morning Herald: Quake City Exhausts its Shaky Residents
- (6-13-11) – Fairfax Media New Zealand: Powerful Earthquakes Rock Christchurch
- (5-31-11) – New Zealand Herald: Strong Chance of Another Big Shake
- (5-9-11) – Radio New Zealand: Detailed Video Footage from Within Red Zone
- (3-18-11) – BBC: Prince William Remembers NZ and Japan Quake Victims
- (3-3-11) – BBC: 'No More Survivors'
- (3-3-11) – Radio New Zealand: Quake Effort Moves to Recovery Phase
- (3-2-11) – BBC: Recovery Hampered by Weather
- (3-2-11) – Radio New Zealand: PM John Key says the New Zealand economy will take a hit of about $15 billion
- (3-1-11) – ABC News: Before and after the Christchurch earthquake (hover over the photo to view the damage)
- (3-1-11) – Wall Street Journal: Quake-Relief Tax Unlikely in New Zealand
- (2-28-11) – BBC: Christchurch quake: Dead are buried as weather worsens
- (2-28-11) – New Zealand Herald: Christchurch: Then and now photos
- (2-27-11) – Courier & Mail (Australia): Earthquake Monitors Detected Tremor
- (2-25-11) – Sydney Morning Herald: Damaged city could take decade to rebuild
- (2-25-11) – New York Times: New Zealand Earthquake's Toll Continues to Mount
- (2-25-11) – BBC: The Epicentre Town
- (2-24-11) – The Australian: Christchurch could be without running water for months amid contamination fears
- (2-24-11) – BBC: Hopes Fade for NZ Quake Missing
- (2-24-11) – Los Angeles Times: New Zealanders Dazed and Exhausted by Second Quake
- (2-24-11) – New York Times: Outlook is Grim in Hunt for New Zealand Quake Survivors
- (2-23-11) – Christian Science Monitor: Why Tuesday's New Zealand Earthquake Was Deadlier Than Previous One
- (2-23-11) – Los Angeles Times: Hope for Quake Survivors Fading as New Zealand Rescuers Sift Through Rubble
- (2-23-11) – Seattle Times: Why Weaker Quake Did More Damage Than September's
- (2-23-11) – New Zealand Herald: 80 Percent of Christchurch Without Water
- (2-23-11) – ABC News (Australian Broadcast Corporation): Earthquake Q & A
- (2-23-11) – New York Times: Rescuers Press Search for Survivors in N.Zealand Quake
- (2-23-11) – Washington Post: Location a Major Factor in New Zealand Earthquake Devastation
- (2-22-11) – CBC News: New Zealand Quake Rescuers Pull 120 From Rubble
- (2-22-11) – Telegraph (UK): New Zealand Earthquake Could Cost Insurers $6bn
- (2-22-11) – New Zealand Herald: Christchurch Quake: Fears toll will rise sharply as night falls
- (2-22-11) – New Zealand Herald: Christchurch earthquake: A city destroyed
- (2-22-11) – Sydney Morning Herald: New Zealand's Darkest Day: Hundreds Feared Dead
- (2-22-11) – CNN: New Zealand: An Earthquake Hotspot
- (2-22-11) – CNN: Quake Hits Fragile New Zealand Economy
- (2-22-11) – Huffington Post: Christchurch in Ruins After 6.3-Magnitude Temblor
- (2-22-11) – Washington Post: Quake in New Zealand Kills Scores
- (2-22-11) – Christian Science Monitor: Authorities Scramble after Temblor Leaves at Least 65 Dead
- (2-22-11) – Telegraph (UK): Google Launches Website to Locate Survivors
- (2-22-11) – Telegraph (UK): 150 Feared Dead on New Zealand's 'Darkest Day'
- (2-22-11) – ABC News: 6.3 Magnitude Earthquake Rocks New Zealand
- (2-22-11) – BBC: Fears after Christchurch Cathedral Tower Collapse
- (2-22-11) – BBC: New Zealand Earthquake: Depth and Location Key
- (2-22-11) – BBC: New Zealand Earthquake: Rescuers Work Through Night
- (2-22-11) – New York Times: Scores Killed in New Zealand Earthquake
- (2-22-11) – Brisbane Times: Big Pictures: Earthquake again hits Christchurch
- (2-22-11) – LA Times: New Zealand quake smashes buildings and cars, killing 65
- (2-22-11) – National Public Radio: Earthquake Kills Dozens In Major New Zealand City
Maps, Remote Sensing & GIS
- BBC: Christchurch Quake Mapped From Space
- GeoNet: Peak Ground Accelerations (PGA) from Recording Stations
- New Zealand Herald: Aftershocks Map
- Christchurch Quake Map Since September 4, 2010
- Christchurch Earthquake Incident Viewer
- USGS: Shakemap
- USGS: Seismic Hazard Map
- USGS: Historical Seismicity
- USGS: PAGER Earthquake Impact
- USGS: Earthquake Density Maps
- USGS: Community Internet Intensity Map
Background Information on New Zealand
- Wikimedia Commons: Atlas of New Zealand
- University of Colorado at Boulder Libraries: New Zealand Country Profile
- New Zealand Goverment: New Zealand
- World Factbook: New Zealand
- BBC: Country Profile: New Zealand
- USGS: New Zealand Tectonic Summary Poster
South Island of New Zealand Earthquake 2010
A 7.0 M earthquake struck off New Zealand’s South Island on Friday September 03, 2010 at 16:35:46 UTC (12:35:46 PM EDT). The epicenter was 55 km (35 miles) north-west of the city of Christchurch (population: 386,000) at a depth of 12 km (7.5) miles. Police said there had been widespread damage to buildings and roads as well as power cuts. Two men were seriously injured by falling masonry and glass.1 Almost two-thirds of the 160,000 homes in and around Christchurch were damaged by the earthquake, New Zealand's prime minister has said. The cost of repairs has been estimated at NZ$2bn ($1.44bn; £930m).2 The earthquake occurred as a result of strike-slip faulting within the crust of the Pacific plate, near the eastern foothills of the Southern Alps at the western edge of the Canterbury Plains. The September 3, 2010 earthquake occurred approximately 50 km to the southeast of a M 7.1, surface-rupturing event in Authur's Pass, on March 9, 1929, which caused damage but injured no one. More recently, two earthquakes of M 6.7 and M 5.9 occurred in June 1994 approximately 40 km to the northwest of the 2010 event, but did not cause any known fatalities or significant damage.3
Earthquake 2010 Facts
- (9-08-10) – New Zealand Herald: Over 100,000 homes destroyed
- (9-08-10) – BBC: 4 billion NZ dollars in damages
- 7.0 M earthquake strikes USGS Report
Structural Engineering News for 2010 Earthquake
- (9-17-10) – MCEER: Preliminary Report on Bridge Damage from the Darfield Earthquake
- (9-09-10) – New Zealand Herald: Use quake lessons to build disaster resilience
- (9-08-10) – New Zealand Herald: Industrial giants take stock of task ahead
- (9-06-10) – Radio Australia: Building code saves NZ from serious destruction
Special Reports & Blogs for 2010 Earthquake
- MCEER Preliminary Report on Bridge Damage from the Darfield Earthquake
- Day One Reports
- Day Two Reports
- Day Three Reports
- Day Four Reports
- Day Five Reports
- NSF Tri-Center Field Mission: 2006 New Zealand
- Building standards make difference in quake deaths
- In Earthquakes, Poverty, Population and Motion Matter
- GeoNet New Zealand Earthquake Website
- The Haiti and New Zealand Quakes: A Fair Comparison?
- New Zealand Hit By Magnitude 7.1 Earthquake
- Solid Facts on Christchurch Liquefaction (pdf)
- Regional Liquefaction Study for Waimakariri District (pdf)
- GNS Science: Canterbury Earthquake Page
- EERI: Christchurch, New Zealand Earthquake
- IRIS Recent Earthquakes: South Island of New Zealand
- New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering: 2010 New Zealand Earthquake Clearinghouse
News, Photos & Videos for 2010 Earthquake
- (9-09-10) – New Zealand Herald: Sharp jolt triggers more damage
- (9-09-10) – New Zealand Herald: Haiti's earthquake similar but deadlier than Christchurch's
- (9-09-10) – BBC: Christchurch shaken by severe aftershock
- (9-09-10) – Mail Online: 7.1-magnitude quake that rocked New Zealand earthquake occurred on previously undetected fault line
- (9-08-10) – New Zealand Herald: Kaiapoi 'will never be the same'
- (9-08-10) – New Zealand Herald: Canterbury earthquake bill may top $4 billion
- (9-08-10) – New Zealand Herald: Haiti: 230,000 deaths, Canterbury: 0 deaths. Why?
- (9-07-10) – The Economist: Facing disaster, like a Kiwi
- (9-06-10) – BBC: New Zealand earthquake 'damaged 100,000 homes'
- (9-04-10) – New Zealand Herald: Christchurch earthquake: I'm lucky to be alive
- (9-04-10) – New Zealand Herald: Christchurch earthquake's destruction
- (9-04-10) – TVNZ: Magnitude 7.1 earthquake hits Chch
- (9-04-10) – TVNZ: VIDEO: Earthquake hits Christchurch
- (9-03-10) – USA Today: Powerful earthquake hits New Zealand near Christchurch
- (9-03-10) – Toronto Star: Powerful 7.1 quake rocks New Zealand's South Island
- (9-03-10) – BBC: Strong earthquake rocks New Zealand's South Island
- (9-03-10) – NY Times: Earthquake Rattles Christchurch, New Zealand
Maps, Remote Sensing & GIS for 2010 Earthquake
- USGS: Shakemap
- USGS: Seismic hazard map
- Christchurch Quake Map